Quail numbers quadrupled with habitat management

[BenA]

Very interesting and promising article on an area not that big.

Restoration Efforts Help Quadruple Quail Population in Nanticoke River Wildlife Management Area

news.maryland.gov

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Saw one today and heard another 2-3.
You have any on your place?

 

[BenA]

I jumped about 4 on my first trip looking at the place, but nothing since. I'm leaning towards a faster burn rotation. I just have to work out the logistics of permanent firebreaks.

 

[Bill]

I’ve posted this before. No quail on my place when I bought it. None for several years. Then one here and there. Today I hear the Bob White calls all day long everywhere. I’m not sure which improvements helped the most but I suspect just letting some fields go fallow and adding native grass, and leaving beans, and leaving lots of ragweed. Edge feathering and cutting clear cuts. But not sure which one is better than the other.

 

[SwampCat]

I’ve posted this before. No quail on my place when I bought it. None for several years. Then one here and there. Today I hear the Bob White calls all day long everywhere. I’m not sure which improvements helped the most but I suspect just letting some fields go fallow and adding native grass, and leaving beans, and leaving lots of ragweed. Edge feathering and cutting clear cuts. But not sure which one is better than the other.

All if it, in one place

 

[cbw]

So excited--I bumped my first quail on our farm! When I was growing up, we had quail and pheasant by the droves. One of my goals when we took possession in 2020 was to bring the quail back (we already had a few pheasants). We installed 8 acres of QuailSafe CRP just last year. And yesterday, when I was looking over our summer foodplots, I bumped our first quail. It was right on the edge of the CRP. The image below is where it was dusting itself before I bumped it.

 

[Turkey Creek]

It has been a exciting but frustrating year here. On the MIL's place we have seen several quail and I hear them whistling off and on all day. However, I have yet to see any chicks. What I thought would also be a good turkey Spring has been a bust. My hens have all but disappeared on trail camera and I don't see many when driving the backroads. As of yet I have not seen a turkey brood. We did have quite a bit of rain this Spring, not sure if that took out a lot of nests.

 

[buckdeer1]

I have seen more this year than in the last 10 together,had 7 or 8 little ones the other morning

 

[KY wild]

I heard a whistle on my place this week, rare event. I love it

 

[b116757]

I planted 7 acres native grass here at the house maybe 15 years ago I saw my first quail this past week. My middle boy also said he thought he saw one so don’t think I hallucinated it. We had good rain in July even into August and the heat stayed around my native grass got so tall after the July cutting we really could of gotten a second cutting of native grass that’s really really unusual around here but the fact that my native grass is so tall heading into this fall is I think why we are seeing quail this fall. Usually the field here at the house is near slicked off going into fall after the July cutting.

 

[bigboreblr]

USed to chase grouse a good bit a few years back. Many ground birds have issue with predators on their eggs. Weasels, racoons, and European red squirrels can attack nests. Turkey nests too. Spruce and I think even more juniper bushes are ideal cover for them, besides a good field. Downing a mature spruce oir white pine is good cover too. Any animal needs a water spruce as well if that's an issue.

Put rye clkiover n brassicas out for deer at camp. Grouse seem to be in those plots all day. Not sure what they like about it. One year planted a ton of brassica mix. There were like a dozen in the food plot during that hunting season. This year left 1 plot alone that had a good amount of f clover going. Seemed to be their favorite plot at camp this year.

 

[Badgers80]

I planted 7 acres native grass here at the house maybe 15 years ago I saw my first quail this past week. My middle boy also said he thought he saw one so don’t think I hallucinated it. We had good rain in July even into August and the heat stayed around my native grass got so tall after the July cutting we really could of gotten a second cutting of native grass that’s really really unusual around here but the fact that my native grass is so tall heading into this fall is I think why we are seeing quail this fall. Usually the field here at the house is near slicked off going into fall after the July cutting.

What’s the reason for all the mowing?

 

[b116757]

I let a neighbor bail it once a year I make him wait until after the 4th of July and I think it helps the native grasses. I likely lose forbes because of it but I’m ok with that. 15 years since I planted it and only the last few can you look at it and say it really looks like a stand of native tall grass prairie is been very slow to establish.

 

[Badgers80]

Gotcha. I’m in year 1 of a CRP native grass stand myself. My neighbor has some CRP too. His field never looked special to me. It looked like a mixture of brome and some forbs, but I couldn’t really spot any native tall grasses. Just something that might provide some cover in the summer, but it was light. Well, he burned it this spring. I think CRP required it to be done before April 15. But, every time I drive by it now, it’s a beautiful stand of native grass, and I’m sure the forbs have only been helped by the fire, but it is just night and day from a year ago. Maybe you tried fire before, but I was just taken aback at how his prairie responded so quickly.